The present invention relates generally to a mail inserting machine and, more particularly, to the envelope staging area in a mail insertion machine.
In a mail insertion machine, there is an envelope feeder on one end of the machine to sequentially release envelopes into an envelope inserting area. On the other end of the mail insertion machine, there is a gathering section where enclosure material is released and gathered. If the enclosure material contains a number of documents, the documents are separately released from a plurality of enclosure feeders. The released documents are then collated into a stack to be moved into the envelope inserting area where the document stack is inserted into the envelope. Envelopes can be fed from below the envelope inserting area by a lower envelope transport system. Usually, the flap of each envelope is flipped away from the throat of the envelope as the envelope is transported from the envelope feeder toward the envelope inserting area.
Mail insertion machines are well known. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,501,417 (Foster et al.) discloses an inserter feeder assembly for feeding enclosures; U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,429 (Irvine et al.) discloses a collating station; and U.S. Pat. No. 5,660,030 (Auerbach et al.) discloses an envelope inserting station wherein envelopes are separately provided to an envelope supporting deck where envelopes are spread open in order to allow enclosure material to be stuffed into the envelopes.
In a typical mail insertion machine, only one envelope is placed at the envelope inserting area at anytime to receive enclosure material. The following envelope must wait at a staging position so that it will not interfere with the insertion of the enclosure material into the envelope located in the envelope inserting area. As soon as the enclosure material is inserted in the envelope, the stuffed envelope is moved out of the envelope inserting area so that the following envelope can enter into the inserting area to receive enclosure material. In a high-speed mail insertion machine, it is important to keep the waiting envelope very close to the envelope located in the inserting area in order to reduce the time required to transport this waiting envelope into the position for mail insertion. At the same time, these envelopes must also be kept at a proper distance from each other.
Thus, it is advantageous and desirable to provide a method and apparatus for staging the envelopes so that the envelope next in line to receive enclosure material is placed at a precise distance relative to the envelope already located in the inserting area for mail insertion.
The first aspect of the present invention is to provide a method for placing a first envelope behind a preceding second envelope which is located at an envelope inserting area of a mail insertion machine to receive enclosure material, wherein both the first and second envelopes have a first end and an opposing second end, and wherein the first envelope is advanced towards the envelope inserting area with the first end leading the second end, and the first end of the first envelope is closer to the second end of the second envelope than the first end thereof. The method comprises the steps of sensing the arrival of the first end of the first envelope at a reference point and, responsive to the sensing, further advancing the first envelope toward the envelope inserting area by a predetermined distance so that the first envelope is paused at a staging position with the first end of the first envelope being located between the reference point and the second end of the second envelope, wherein when the first envelope is located at the staging position, the first end of the first envelope is separated from the second end of the second envelope by a predetermined gap.
Preferably, the predetermined gap is 0.75 inch.
The second aspect of the present invention is an apparatus for placing a first envelope behind a preceding second envelope which is located at an envelope inserting area in a mail insertion machine to receive enclosure material, wherein both the first and second envelopes have a first end and an opposing second end, and wherein the first envelope is advanced towards the envelope inserting area with the first end leading the second end, and the first end of the first envelope is closer to the second end of the second envelope than the first end thereof. The apparatus comprises a sensing device for sensing the arrival of the first end of the first envelope at a reference point which is located away from the second end of the second envelope and further away from the first end thereof and for providing a signal indicative of the sensing; and a transporting device, responsive to the signal from the sensing device, for further advancing the first envelope by a predetermined distance so that the first envelope is paused at a staging position with the first end of the first envelope being located between the reference point and the second end of the second envelope.
Preferably, the sensing device is a photosensor.
Preferably, the transporting device is a motor.
The present invention will become apparent upon reading the description taken in conjunction with FIGS. 1-4b.